founder

[ foun-der ]

/ ˈfaʊn dər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR founder ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who founds or establishes.

Nearby words

foundation day, foundation garment, foundation stone, foundation subjects, founded, founder, founder effect, founder's type, founderous, founders' shares, founding

Origin of founder

Middle English word dating back to 1275–1325; see origin at found², -er¹

Definition for founder (2 of 3)

founder

[ foun-der ]

/ ˈfaʊn dər /

verb (used without object)

(of a ship, boat, etc.) to fill with water and sink.

to fall or sink down, as buildings, ground, etc.: Built on a former lake bed, the building has foundered nearly ten feet.

to become wrecked; fail utterly: The project foundered because public support was lacking.

to stumble, break down, or go lame, as a horse: His mount foundered on the rocky path.

to become ill from overeating.

Veterinary Pathology. (of a horse) to suffer from laminitis.

verb (used with object)

to cause to fill with water and sink: Rough seas had foundered the ship in mid-ocean.

Veterinary Pathology. to cause (a horse) to break down, go lame, or suffer from laminitis.

noun

Veterinary Pathology. laminitis.

Origin of founder

1300–50; Middle English foundren < Middle French fondrer to plunge to the bottom, submerge < Vulgar Latin *fundorāre, derivative of *fundor-, taken as stem of Latin fundus bottom

SYNONYMS FOR founder

3 collapse, perish, succumb, topple, sink; flop.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR founder ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsun·foun·dered, adjectiveun·foun·der·ing, adjective

Definition for founder (3 of 3)

founder

[ foun-der ]

/ ˈfaʊn dər /

noun

a person who founds or casts metal, glass, etc.

Origin of founder

Middle English word dating back to 1175–1225; see origin at found³, -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for founder

Since then, the app has gained over 165,000 users in more than 70 countries, according to its founder.
My Week on Jewish Tinder|Emily Shire|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Check out a clip from this exclusive interview with SCAD President and Founder Paula Wallace at the 2014 Savannah Film Festival.
Who Is Joe Manganiello? Sofia Vergara’s Fiancé on the Value of Hard Work|The Daily Beast Video|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fulkerson, the founder of the magazine who has hired March, is someone he can cope with.
The Novel That Foretold the TNR Meltdown|Nicolaus Mills|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The founder of Pan Am, Juan Trippe, knew how business was done in the Caribbean.
Goodbye, Bahamas. Hello, Havana!|Clive Irving|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Tom Angell, founder of nonprofit Marijuana Majority, says the whole thing is a bit odd.
Tribes to U.S. Government: Take Your Weed and Shove It|Abby Haglage|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Most morphologists of the younger generations now take these terms for granted, without remembering the name of their founder.
The Last Link|Ernst Haeckel
The founder of the house had begun life as the son of a forester in Luxemburg.
The Valley of Vision|Henry Van Dyke
The crypt is of interest from being mainly built up from the rude early church of the Danish founder.
Romantic Ireland; volume 1/2|M.F and B. McM. Mansfield
Soon afterwards, the founder of the establishment, Mr. Rapp, came in.
Travels in the Interior of North America, Part I, (Being Chapters I-XV of the London Edition, 1843)|Alexander Philipp Maximilian, Prince of Wied
Zoroaster was not their founder, but was their reformer, and the purifier of their doctrines.
Mysticism and its Results|John Delafield

British Dictionary definitions for founder (1 of 3)

founder

/ (ˈfaʊndə) /

noun

a person who establishes an institution, company, society, etc

Word Origin for founder

C14: see found ²

British Dictionary definitions for founder (2 of 3)

founder

/ (ˈfaʊndə) /

verb (intr)

(of a ship) to sink

to break down or failthe project foundered

to sink into or become stuck in soft ground

to fall in or give way; collapse

(of a horse) to stumble or go lame

archaic (of animals, esp livestock) to become ill from overeating

noun

vet science another name for laminitis

Word Origin for founder

C13: from Old French fondrer to submerge, from Latin fundus bottom; see found ²

usage

Founder is sometimes wrongly used where flounder is meant: this unexpected turn of events left him floundering (not foundering)

British Dictionary definitions for founder (3 of 3)

founder

/ (ˈfaʊndə) /

noun

a person who makes metal castings
(in combination)an iron founder

Word Origin for founder

C15: see found ³

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for founder

founder

[ foun′dər ]

v.

To stumble, especially to stumble and go lame. Used of horses.

To become ill from overeating. Used of livestock.

To be afflicted with laminitis. Used of horses.

n.

laminitis

founder

noun

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of founder

Definition for founder (2 of 3)

founder

verb (used without object)

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of founder

Definition for founder (3 of 3)

founder

noun

Origin of founder

Examples from the Web for founder

British Dictionary definitions for founder (1 of 3)

founder

noun

Word Origin for founder

British Dictionary definitions for founder (2 of 3)

founder

verb (intr)

noun

Word Origin for founder

usage

British Dictionary definitions for founder (3 of 3)

founder

noun

Word Origin for founder

Medicine definitions for founder

founder

v.

n.